Again?

On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures
The Nicene Creed, lines 20-21

          At this glorious time of year where our emphasis is set squarely on the Resurrection of Christ, it is important to dig into questions of our faith that may otherwise go unattended. Many of the questions we should be asking, but don’t, can have the effect of undercutting our faith relationship with God precisely because they are unanswered.

          In an effort to bolster our faith walk, I would love to hear what questions you might have so we can address them for everyone. For instance, I was asked last Sunday why, in the Nicene Creed, we say that Jesus was “raised again from the dead.”

          The Nicene Creed, or more accurately The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, was adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and was amended with final revision at the First Council of Constantinople in 381. For brevity’s sake, we refer to the final form simply as the Nicene Creed.

          The Nicene Creed is, perhaps, the influential creed of the Christian faith. It was formed by the whole body of the church at subsequent ecumenical councils and was the first creed to obtain universal authority in the church. It states the accepted understanding of the Trinity and, for the first time, emphasizes the union of the Holy Spirit. The Nicene Creed is the defining statement of belief for mainstream Christianity and is part of the profession of faith required at certain services of the church.

The Creed, found on page 358 of the Book of Common Prayer, states:

The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
    the Father, the Almighty,
    maker of heaven and earth,
    of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
    the only Son of God,
    eternally begotten of the Father,
    God from God, Light from Light,
    true God from true God,
    begotten, not made,
    of one Being with the Father.
    Through him all things were made.
    For us and for our salvation
        he came down from heaven:
    by the power of the Holy Spirit
        he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
        and was made man.
    For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
        he suffered death and was buried.
        On the third day he rose again
            in accordance with the Scriptures;
        he ascended into heaven
    He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
        and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
    who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
    With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
    He has spoken through the Prophets.
    We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
    We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
    We look for the resurrection of the dead,
        and the life of the world to come. Amen.

          The question I received was regarding lines 20 and 21 of the formatted version found on page 358 of the BCP,
        On the third day he rose again
            in accordance with the Scriptures;
And the question is specifically about the phrase, “rose again.”

          This line was likely lifted whole clothe from the St. Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians 4:14, For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. To understand the theological significance of the line we don’t need to go much deeper than linguistic usage.

          In our usage, again usually means “an additional time,” or “a second time,” but historically it has been used to mean “a continuation of a prior event.” Historically, again has also been used to denote “a return to” or “repeat a previous condition.” For example, in historic literature, from The Merchant of Venice, Portia speaks of one who “swore he would pay him again when he was able” (I:ii). This is not indicating that Portia had paid and would pay twice, but that Portia would pay “in return” for services rendered.

          In the same way, “rose again” in the Nicene Creed does not mean “rose a second time,” but that Jesus rose anew to a previous condition—life. Jesus was alive before; then for a while He was dead; now He is once again alive.

          So, the theological significance of this phrase is simply the proclaimed truth that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, who became flesh and dwelt among us, who was Crucified and died for us to pay for our sins, rose from the dead to live again to give us eternal life.
 
Peace in Him,
Fr. Bill+